Pasty

A pasty (/ˈpæsti/, Cornish: Hogen; Pasti),is a baked pastry, a traditional variety of which is particularly associated with Cornwall, in the UK. It is made by placing an uncooked filling, typically meat and vegetables, on one half of a flat short crust pastry circle, folding the pastry in half to wrap the filling in a semicircle and crimping the curved edge to form a seal before baking.

The Cornish pasty is known and loved throughout Great Britain and has long been part of our culinary heritage.  It is believed the pasty evolved for Cornish tin miners, who, unable to return to the surface at lunchtime had a hearty, easy to hold and eat, lunch dish. With their hands often dirty from a mornings work, the pasty could be held by the thick pastry crust without contaminating the contents.

The pasty is great for a lunch box but also makes a great main course dish when served with fresh vegetables.

In 2011 Cornish Pasties were given a PDO Status and so though my recipe is not exactly  made to their criteria, it is nonetheless a great pasty.